Mir SeyedAbbasi, PhD, PE

Dr. SeyedAbbasi is a Technical Director with over fifteen years of experience in soil and groundwater investigations, remediation, environmental fate and transport modeling, academic research, and environmental consulting. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and Texas. He has experience in developing, troubleshooting, and reviewing flow and transport models and has worked on modeling projects spanning a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, complex geological settings, and challenging numerical conditions. His modeling expertise also includes multi-phase, multi‐component modeling capabilities by using widely tested and successfully applied programs for reactive transport simulations. Dr. SeyedAbbasi has experience in environmental litigation support, including roles as consulting the testifying experts for numerous cases involving forensic analysis of environmental impacts; natural resource damage assessment; remediation of soil and groundwater; and creating and reviewing environmental fate and transport, spill and risk models, and allocation of liability for projects in the US, Latin America, the Middle East, and Central Asia. He has been the Co-Principal Investigator and participant for numerous environmental research and development projects for the Department of Energy, American Petroleum Institute (API), Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), and Department of Defense (DoD), and has experience working with research and development teams comprised of mixed academic, industrial, and consulting members. He has conducted and published research on a variety of areas related to subsurface contamination, site investigation and characterization, remediation technologies, spill modeling, matrix diffusion, and multiphase fate and transport in unsaturated and saturated subsurface media.

• Non-aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) Recovery Capture Modeling, Former Refinery, Casper, Wyoming. Project leader developing, calibrating, and conducting sensitivity analyses of a groundwater flow and transport model using MODFLOW/MODPATH; evaluated the performance of existing recovery wells’ capture zones and suggested the locations of new recovery wells.
• Surfactant-Enhanced Aquifer Remediation (SEAR) Modeling, Former Refinery, Casper, Wyoming. Project team leader to evaluate the data collected prior to and during a surfactant injection pilot test and characterize the role of contaminant mass storage and NAPL dissolution/mobilization on the SEAR performance at the Site. Conducted multi-phase, multi-component reactive flow and transport modeling unsaturated and saturated porous media using UTCHEM model to help with data collection, design calculations, surfactant injection system design, implementation, and monitoring.
• Oil Spill Flow and Transport Modeling, Israel. Project leader conducting oil spill modeling of spill from a buried pipe transporting crude oil that resulted in an estimated release volume of approximately 5,000 cubic meters. Predicted the flow path on the ground surface and evaluated the extent of a released product onto the ground surface along the flow path based on the estimated release volume and time duration, product properties, surface soil properties, and air temperature.
• Air Quality Impact Statement (AQIS) Analysis and Reporting for Multiple Sites in Chicago, Illinois. Evaluated and quantified the stationary and mobile sources of air pollution at the sites, describing the nature and quantity of air contaminants emitted directly and indirectly from development of the sites. Conducted air dispersion modeling utilizing United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AERMOD atmospheric dispersion modeling system. Assessed impacts of the development on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to determine if the project would cause significant adverse impacts to existing air quality.
• Former Atlas Missile Site in York, Nebraska. Co-Principal Investigator on team investigating enhanced attenuation of unsaturated chlorinated solvent source zones using direct hydrogen delivery (ESTCP ER-201027). Evaluated the performance, implementability, and cost of the hydrogen-based treatment (H2T) as a remediation technology for the unsaturated zone, either as the initial remediation technology applied at a site or as a polishing technology that will allow the Department of Defense (DoD) site managers to shut down an existing expensive, low performance SVE system, but where monitored natural attenuation may not be sufficient to control the groundwater plume that is sourced by the residual contaminants in the unsaturated zone.
• Natural Attenuation of Dissolved Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Former Terminal, Jackson, Michigan. Project leader conducting BIOSCREEN modeling of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) fate and transport in overburden and bedrock aquifers at a former terminal. MTBE had been detected in potable wells for residential homes located nearby the terminal. Conducted assessment of MTBE plume migration and degradation using the USEPA’s BIOSCREEN groundwater transport model. Evaluated the extent of MTBE plume migration to predict whether the potable wells for homes outside of the water district and on the southern shore of nearby lake may be impacted by MTBE.

• Litigation Support, PFAS Fate and Transport Modeling Utilizing MODFLOW/MT3DMS in Minnesota. Conducted flow, particle tracking and solute fate and transport modeling for large multi-layer model with an unstructured grid (USG) discretization. Evaluated the impact of non-point source of PFAS entering the subsurface from dumping areas.

• Litigation Support, 1,4-Dioxane Fate and Transport Modeling Utilizing MODFLOW/MT3DMS in Suffolk County, New York. Conducted flow, particle tracking, and solute fate and transport modeling for large multi-layer model. Evaluated the impact of non-point source of 1,4-Dioxane entering the subsurface from septic tank and cesspool systems.

• Litigation Support, Group of Retail Gas Stations Sites, California. Provided technical support on various environmental issues associated with the litigation project, including chemicals fate and transport modeling of MTBE with MODFLOW/MT3DMS, chemical fingerprinting, and model evaluation. Analyzed groundwater, soil vapor, and indoor air data to identify potential impacts from saturated zone sources to indoor air. Analyzed the plaintiff’s groundwater flow and contaminant transport model to support legal team in defense of claims of groundwater contamination from MTBE.

• Litigation Support, Louisiana. Provided technical support to on various environmental issues associated with the litigation project, including detailed hydrogeological cross sections, local and regional hydrogeology, and contaminant fate and transport. Conducted saline water intrusion modeling to evaluate the alleged impact of pumping rates from client’s oil production wells compared to nearby wells on saline water intrusion into plaintiff agricultural irrigation wells. Evaluated the model created by the plaintiff and ran multiple additional scenarios.

• Adamson, D.T., McHugh, T.E., Rysz, M.W., Landazuri, R., Seyedabbasi, M.A., Hass, P.E., Newell, C.J., On-Site Vapor-Phase analysis as a Novel Approach for Monitoring Groundwater Wells. Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation Journal. Volume 34, Issue 2, 42–59, DOI: 10.1111/gwmr.12048.

• Seyedabbasi M.A., Kulkarni P.R., McDade J.M., Newell C.J., Gandhi D., Gallinatti J.D., Cocianni V., Ferguson D.J. (2013) Matrix Diffusion Modeling Applied to Long-term Pump and Treat Data: 2. Results from Three Sites, Remediation Journal, 23 (2), 93–109, DOI: 10.1002/rem.21350.

• McDade J.M., Kulkarni P.R., Seyedabbasi M.A., Newell C.J., Gandhi D., Gallinatti J.D., Cocianni V., Ferguson D.J. (2013) Matrix Diffusion Modeling Applied to Long-term Pump and Treat Data: 1. Method Development, Remediation Journal, 23 (2), 71–91, DOI: 10.1002/rem.21349.

• Seyedabbasi M.A., Newell C.J., Adamson D.T., Sale T.C. (2012) Relative Contribution of DNAPL Dissolution and Matrix Diffusion to the Long-Term Persistence of Chlorinated Solvent Source Zones, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, pp. 69-81, DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2012.03.010.

• Farthing, M.W., M.A. Seyedabbasi, P.T. Imhoff, C.T. Miller (2012) Influence of porous media heterogeneity on nonaqueous phase liquid dissolution fingering and upscaled mass transfer, Water Resour. Res., 48, W08507, DOI: 10.1029/2011WR011389.

• Seyedabbasi A., Adamson D. T., Newell C. J. (2010) Enhanced Attenuation of Unsaturated Chlorinated Solvent Source Zones using Direct Hydrogen Delivery, Partners in Environmental Technology Technical Symposium & Workshop sponsored by SERDP and ESTCP, ESTCP Project ER-1027, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2010, Washington, DC.

• Seyedabbasi, M.A., Farthing, M.W., Imhoff, P.T., Miller, C.T. (2008) Influence of Wettability and Boundary Conditions on NAPL Dissolution Fingering, Advances in Water Resources, DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2008.08.003, 31, 1687-1696.